Hi All My bike got delivered yesterday, so I thought I'd post some pics up. I was originally planning on getting a new 959, but after some consideration, I just can't get to love the exhausts, and although the Titanium Akra twin pipes are better looking, it's another £1,700 on top of an already £13,*** bike, so bringing close to some good deals on 1199's and 1299's. Anyway, after then looking for new stock of 899's, I came across the bike I bought as a 2014 plate with 2000 miles on the clock. The dealer gave me a very good price for my 2013 ZX6R 636, which was around £1k more than most places were offering, so a deal was done after a quick drive down to wales. Hopefully, we'll get a dry day in the next week or so where I can get it out and try it out properly (I have a triumph tiger that I ride in crap conditions if I feel like getting out on the bike, so the Ducati will stay for dry days and a few track days) It matches my RS4 too Outside the dealers; A couple of quick questions ; Can someone recommend a decent paddock stand ? I have an oxford stand, which is the platform type, but with the 899's swing arm and rear brake assembly, I don't fancy leaning that on it. I see it has a hollow axle, so can I get one the types that sit in the axle from one side, and are they then strong enough for me to be able to sit on the bike with it mounted (I'm 79kgs), or am I better off getting a bobbin type stand and fitting bobbins to the swing arm ? Also, how long do the batteries last between rides ? I have the Ducati charger that came with it, but no instructions, and no idea where to plug it in ? I've had a look under the seat cover, and under another little flap under the toolkit, there's a lead, but it seems connected and nothing's instantly obvious as to where to plug it in ? Are the Ducati ones any good, or shall I get a hard wire kit for the Accumate that I have and use for my Triumph, and previously my Kawasaki ? Early impressions are that I love the sound of it, but my wife thinks I look like a cock on it
Awesome, looks great! I have yet to approach the charging subject with mine, however the battery is behind the rad which is a pain. I have R&G bobbins on my swing arm and use paddock stands from ebay front and rear. They do the job fine for me.
Ride it like the 636 and you'll love it! Swing arm bobbins and cheap stand for me too. Buy the lead for your Accumate, it's an easy job fitting it to the battery.
Welcome in, paddock stand wise, a decent one such as Oxford, Harris etc will all do the job, would recommend using big bobbins with a stand that has forks, so they don't flip around and scratch the swingarm. Nice to have some more from around these parts! Ref the battery, if new and used every 3-4 weeks it will probably be fine, mine will sit for 2-3 weeks and fire up perfectly but if leaving for more like 1 month plus I would get an optimate or the official Ducati one
but my wife thinks I look like a cock on it At 79kg you are not particularly fat ( unless you are shorter than 5 ft), panigale's are tiny & IMO tall or fat ( or worse still tall & fat) look odd. Or does your wife have the same opinion when you are driving the RS4 or generally in her presence in which case it's a married thing?...
I'm pretty average height at 5.11 She thinks I look like a knob all the time, I guess it's just a 'wife thing' and her way of showing her love !
Given the small window of almost dryness this morning, I took it out for an hours blast around the countryside. It's easily the best bike I've ever owned, and super easy to ride, even in the less than perfect conditions of today. I was actually planning on going out on my Triumph Tiger, but as soon as I saw how dry it was, I went out on the 899 instead. Reckon I'll need to wear leathers for riding it next time though, as I was in my Alpinestars Andes touring kit, and I slid around on the saddle all over the place, and there's no way I could really get a good grip of the narrow tank on the ducati. Next time, I'll wear my leathers instead, but very impressed with the bike, and the noise it makes through the tunnels and built up areas is amazing. Very happy and can't wait for another dry day I wasn't great conditions, and the bike's on two new tyres, which coupled with the greasy roads, made for quite a slippery experience, but the DTC reigns it all in pretty smoothly, which is much better than the system I had on my ZX6R, where it'd just cut the spark completely at the first sign of wheelspin The foot pegs are pretty slippery too. Can anyone suggest a decent alternative set ?
Panigale owners with cars that match their bikes are definitely the coolest. Although, yours is a better colour match, but then it's not Italian, but Audi do own Ducati, oh who cares, welcome!
